This installation package could not be opened message in Windows 10/8/7

If you run a setup file to install a program on your Windows computer and you receive a message – This installation package could not be opened, Contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package, then this post may be able to help you.

This installation package could not be opened

If you receive a “This installation package could not be opened” message, here are a few things you could do:

1] Check if the setup file is meant for your version of Windows – 32-Bit or 64-Bit

2] Maybe the download was interrupted or got corrupted. Clear your browser cache and re-download the setup and see it it works.

3] Right-click on the .exe file, select Properties and then click on the Unblock button – if the file has been blocked, to unlock the file.

4] Disable your security software temporarily and see if that helps. But remember that your computer will be unprotected and if the setup contains any malware, your computer will be vulnerable. So do this only if you totally trust the downloaded package.

5] If you saved the setup file on a Network, you may get to see this message. Save it to your local computer and run and see if it works.

6] Maybe Administrator rights are required. So then either log into an Administrator account or create a new Administrator account, log into the Administrator account and then run the Installer package.

7] Run Windows Update to make sure that you are running the latest version of Windows Installer. Or then, maybe your Windows Installer file has been corrupted. Run System File Checker and reboot once the scan is completed. If you need to, you can download the latest version of Windows Installer here from Microsoft.

8] You may want also to consider re-registering the Windows Installer engine. To do so, open Command Prompt, type the following and hit Enter:

msiexec /unregister

Now to register it again, type the following and hit Enter.

msiexec /regserver

9] Run services.msc to open the Services Manager and check the status of the Windows Installer Service or msiexec.exe process. Its Startup style should be set to Manual, by default.

Windows Installer Service Adds, modifies, and removes applications provided as a Windows Installer (*.msi, *.msp) package. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

Double click on Windows Installer to open its Properties box and then click on the Start button to start the service. Click on the Start button Now run the setup and see if that helps. See this post if Windows Installer Service can not be accessed.

Let us know if anything worked for you or if you have other suggestions.

Anand Khanse is the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, a 10-year Microsoft MVP Awardee in Windows (2006-16) & a Windows Insider MVP. Please read the entire post & the comments first, create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system & be careful about any 3rd-party offers while installing freeware.